T Stands For Homeward Bound

Warning, very wordy and long post with a few pictures at the end.

After the washing machine was delivered, and the landlord completed all the small repairs, it was time for me to go home. Time for the Eldest to soar on her own.

Originally, I thought I would take my car and follow The Eldest as we drove to Pennsylvania from Massachusetts, but The Eldest didn't want to do all the driving on her own. Without my wheels, I would have to fly home. No problem. Or so I thought.

The nearest airport is in Pittsburgh which is about an hour and a half South of where The Eldest lives. About the same distance as my house to Boston's Logan airport. And when a ride is needed, you can call Knight's Transportation service to get you to Boston on time. Or take the commuter rail, or subway. Lots of ways to get to the airport.

The problem in The Eldest's area was there is no such transportation service. A trip by taxi would cost twice as much as my airline ticket. There was no bus, no train, no subway.

At the beginning of the week, when the landlord was over making a small repair, I asked him if there was a transportation service to get to the airport. Maybe the locals had transportation. He said mostly people had a relative or friend drive them down. Not much help for me as The Eldest would be at work when I would need to leave for the airport.

He said he had an Amish man that worked for him. He would ask the man's driver. Amish and driver didn't seem to go together as the Amish live pretty much in the 18th or 19th centuries. No automated technologies. So I'm thinking the driver would be driving a wagon or carriage. How many miles away is Pittsburgh and how many miles could a horse and buggy travel in a day? I figured I'd have to leave for the airport a week before I arrived.

"I thought the Amish couldn't use modern technology?"

"You'd be surprised by the rules that get bent," laughed the landlord.

Turns out the Amish helper can't and doesn't drive, but he can ride in a car if he needed to get to work outside of his community and too far to walk. He can also have a cellphone so he can get in touch with his boss. So, the helper had a driver who took him where he needed to go. The landlord would see about getting the driver's number.

The landlord came over and gave me a card with the driver's name and number. He said he had already talked to the driver about me. The driver said he had some Amish to drive around on Friday, but he would have his wife drive them so he could take me to the airport. I called to arrange the time and the fee which was reasonable compared to a taxi.

The elderly, 91 year old neighbor had seen the landlord coming to make repairs and had a problem with his thermostat. While repairing the gentleman's thermostat, the landlord told him about my ride dilemma. Shortly after the landlord left, the elderly gentleman came over to offer to take me to the airport.

He said he had nothing much to do on Friday, and he would only charge me for gas. When we first met him, he had told us he had just gotten out of the hospital for a bleeding ulcer, and was feeling much better. I told the old gentleman his offer was very neighborly and thoughtful, but I declined. The trip to and back from the airport would be close to a 4 hour ride, and the old dude had just gotten out of the hospital. I'm sure he was feeling better, but a ride like that might end up taking the wind out of his sails. I thanked the old man, and said since the driver had rearranged his schedule to take me, I didn't feel right about cancelling out. The man would have no work for the day.  The old man said he understood, and I thanked him again for his offer.

My flight was at 12:30 PM, so we'd have to leave around 8:30 AM to get me to the airport in time to take care of traffic and getting through security. The Eldest was on a 6 AM to 2:30 PM shift so we said good byes early and I waited for my ride.

The driver had told me he would have a friend with him to keep him company on the ride back from the airport. No problem. The car pulled up promptly at 8 am, the passenger door opened and a young Amish man got out, and offered me the front seat. I told him it wasn't necessary and I didn't mind riding in the back seat, but in a blur of dark hat and coat, he was in the back seat.

There was hardly any traffic on the highway which surprised me as we were still in the rush hour, or would have been if we were in Boston. The driver made small talk and occasionally the Amish man chimed in. Since it was the weekend of the Super Bowl football came up as a topic. I expected the driver to bash the New England Patriots  as people outside of New England really seem to hate the Pats. The driver was a fan of another Pennsylvania team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He surprised me with his comments  that the Patriots were a good team, had a good coach and a winning formula.

"You have to give credit where credit is due," he said.

Apparently, the Pats coach, Bill Belichick, had coached for a college in nearby Ohio before coaching for Buffalo and then the Patriots. The Amish man didn't participate in this conversation and I wondered if he even played football, or maybe soccer.

During the conversation, the driver missed the exit to the airport. The next exit was in neighboring Ohio where he turned around, and quickly got back on track. Soon we crossed the Ohio River and then were at the airport. The driver told me to keep him in mind if I needed a ride when I came to visit. I thanked him and told him I would. I gave him his fare, tolls, and a healthy tip for his trouble.

It had been 12 years since I flew anywhere and security practices had changed. I'm a planner so The Young One who is well traveled told me what to expect. I stopped to ask a ticket agent where I was supposed to go, and he directed me to an elevator and stair well halfway down the concourse. Told me after going through security to hop on the tram and ride until it stops.

The airport wasn't very crowded and I got through security quickly. I had two hours to kill before my flight. As directed by the ticket agent, I got on the tram to head to my gate.After the tram ride, I was desperate for a cup of tea. I had seen someone wandering around with a Starbuck's cup and thought a vanilla chai sounded pretty good. I asked George, but he had never heard of Starbuck's

I found my gate, but no Starbuck's.

The rug looked like fish.

I wandered back toward the elevator. The Pittsburgh Steeler wasn't helpful in directing me to Starbucks.

Neither was the dinosaur.

After wandering in circles, I found Starbuck's and sat and relaxed with a Grande Vanilla Chai and a Cranberry scone. After my second breakfast, I wandered back to the gate.

And took a picture of the advert healthcare system where The Eldest is now working. (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center)

The plane pulled up to the jetway.

During the week, it occurred to me I didn't have a luggage tag to identify my carryon.. While at Walmart I had found some Prismacolor pencils and a small sketchpad. I thought I'd have time during the week to art, but I only had time to make a tag using some cardboard from the packaging of the programmable thermostat. The reverse side was glossy red.

Taking pictures eats up the cellphone battery so I found a charging station.

Found my window seat. I like sitting over the wings.

The flight from Pittsburgh to Boston is only an hour and a half. The flight left a few minutes early and we must have caught a good tail wind. Soon we were turning over Boston Harbor and the Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant.

It was so cold, there was ice on the ocean.

Soon the iconic Logan control tower came into view.

After exiting the wrong door, and wandering around texting Himself, I soon found him, and we headed home.

The End

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.